Arkansas gays lose battle to keep adopted children

Many of you might be wondering why, in the past few days,. I’ve been writing as much as I have on gay rights. Although it’s true the site is primarily about atheism, my reaction to the blatant and shocking disregard for this minority obliges me to write on their behalf.

Unbeknownst to most of us, the election was not only about voting in a new president. It was also an opportunity for conservative groups in Arkansas to pass through legislation making it illegal for homosexual couples to adopt children. It also means all adopted kids currently with these couples will be removed from their current homes and placed into foster care.

The state has one of the lowest adoption rates in the country, and it’s likely that these children will not find homes, and will instead be hopelessly lost in the system for the rest of their lives.

I am still baffled at how heartless and savage the so called ‘moral majority’ can be. It’s obvious their hatred for homosexuals runs so deep, they are willing to break up happy families to satisfy their ignorant belief that only ‘mother-father’ homes are healthy. It’s been proven time and time again this has little if anything to do with how happy and healthy a child grows up. They just don’t seem to care about the truth.

Of course, that religious people refuse to listen to reason is nothing new. What is shocking is how easily everyone seems to accept these laws when they are passed democratically. As I wrote in my article When Democracy isn’t Democratic, it’s time we re-examine the constitutionality of being able to vote away existing rights of individuals.

It looks to me the increased power and mobility of religious groups has begun to erode the rights of homosexuals, and I’m inclined to believe this is only the beginning. The growing religiosity of Americans is a frightening new realty, and its consequences could be devastating. Consider how close they were to having an ignorant, under qualified Vice President (and potential president with the foreseeable death of John McCain) whose fundamentalist ties are well documented.

If this were a war, I would say that with each battle, the left has been taking heavy casualties with no clear sign of a victory on the horizon. In a world where religious beliefs cannot be questioned, it becomes an invincible armor that cannot be pierced. In a fight, we cannot allow this blanket immunity to cloud the issue. The right has been allowed a free ticket to prosecute minorities under the banner of ‘faith’. I’ve had enough. Have you?

I’m still in disbelief about this, I’ve never felt so angry and yet so small at the same time. I know this is biblebelt mentality, but as much as this Election did move America forward, the gay rights movement has taken a serious step back.